I just finished listening!
You did a great job. The host seemed pretty decent towards cyclists.
Quite disappointed though not surprised in the typical air-bags phoning in.

The one person said don’t ride along the line when there is a bike lane, unless the law has changed, bikes may ride on the outside of the bike lane. Snow, ice, glass and other debris forces bikes out. If motorists have an issue with that contact the city and tell them to maintain the bike lanes.

As for the riding two abreast? This is done by recreational riders not commuters, at least in my experience.

As for your three questions:
1-No, it’s not dangerous. If there was a reason I would say yes it’s because of irresponsible motorists. One thing I noticed two days ago when I was on the roads, is how bad (female) motorists were. Speeding and not adjusting their driving for the conditions on the road.

2-With how dangerous driving is during this time of year, I’d be more willing to push for making driving illegal. Simply watch any news report after a dusting of snow, and all the fender benders, roll overs etc.
Two years ago when I was walking my dog, I came close to smacking my head on the ground because of black ice. Should we make walking illegal also? In many cases pedestrians make their way onto the road any ways to walk.

This past January our local radio station had the discussion after a cyclist was killed in Niagara Falls during a snow storm. A woman phoned in and said “I shouldn’t have to share the narrowed roads with cyclists, because I’m not comfortable driving by them. I would say if SHE is not comfortable, SHEshould not be on the roads.

3-Elite athlete? Far from it. I’d go as far to say that 90% of the cyclists in St. Catharines are just your average everyday person with no or limited athletic abilities. This time of year I find the “spandex” crowd hides and 99.9% of cyclists are just your average Joe’s/Jane’s.

I’m glad you didn’t take the bait he was dangling about how hard winter biking could be.

I was also surprised at the ostensible question being asked ‘should winter cycling be legal’. Pure horse shit. I think if motorists can’t stop themselves from maiming someone if there’s some snow on the ground, then driving should be illegal in the winter.

I’d like to see more cars parked in the winter. Freakin’ idiot drivers everywhere once the snow hits. If driving is that big a challenge, take the bus…or bike :)
Personally, I’m too much of a wimp to bike in this cold, brrr, but I don’t fault those who do. As a matter of fact, I’ll even admit they are better men than me.